Andy Cirzan's Back with His Latest Mix, "Warblings from the Enchanted Forest"

Andy Cirzan

One of my favorite mileposts on the road to Christmas each year is Christmas music aficionado Andy Cirzan's annual appearance on WBEZ's Sound Opinions radio program and the simultaneous release of his latest holiday compilation. You see, Andy is truly the "Godfather" of most serious holiday music collectors. He's been putting together his annual complations since the 1980s, and he's been doing his annual gig on Sound Opinions for close to 20 years now.

By day, Cirzan's a vice president of Jam Productions, a successful concert promotion business. On his own time, however, he likes nothing better than searching used records stores, garage sales and similar haunts for crazy, offbeat and previously unknown holiday tunes.

“Ninety-nine percent of the stuff on my CD, there’s zero chance anyone can stumble upon it on their own,” Cirzan explains. “I’m the archaeologist digging away and saying, ‘I can’t wait until people hear this.’ ”

Andy's latest mix is called "Warblings from the Enchanted Forest," and it's another winner. I don't know how he does it, but 12 of the 13 tracks on this effort are tracks I've never heard before, which is a real treat. It's a good mix of styles and tempos, with a little something for everyone. Jazz fans will be especially interested in the last couple of track, by Dexter Gordon and the Dexter Gordon Quartet. 

Me? I'm rather partial to the first track on the second side of the album, "The Year Around Christmas," a classic 1970s EP featuring a bunch of hip cats groovin' on how to extend the holiday spirit throughout the year. The challenge, they concluded, was to convince people that "peace and love won't hurt anyone." You dig? I wish I knew about this track when I put together my special "The Now Sound of Christmas" mix a few years ago. You can download "Warblings from the Enchanted Forest" for free from Sound Opinions by clicking below, but act fast! The link comes down as this old year ends on December 31.


Download Cirzan's latest holiday compilation, "Warblings from the Enchanted Forest" Now through 12/31/16 ONLY!

Listen to Andy's Latest Appearance on Sound Opinions