Walter Parazaider (born March 14, 1945) is an American woodwind musician who is a founding member of the rock band Chicago. He is best known for being one-third of Chicago's brass/woodwind section alongside Lee Loughnane and James Pankow. Parazaider is a multi-instrumentalist. He plays a wide variety of wind instruments, including saxophone, flute, and clarinet. He also occasionally plays guitar.
Parazaider was born in Maywood, Illinois, and began playing the clarinet at the age of 9. As a teenager, his growing talent was being groomed for a career as a professional orchestral musician, and he gained a Bachelor of Arts degree in classical clarinet performance from DePaul University.
Inspired by the Beatles hit "Got to Get You Into My Life", Parazaider became enamored of the idea of creating a rock 'n' roll band with horns. Early practice sessions at Parazaider's house included guitarist Terry Kath and drummer Danny Seraphine, who were both friends during his teenage years. Another friend who became involved was future Chicago producer James William Guercio.
The band, originally called The Big Thing, eventually became Chicago with the addition of Lee Loughnane on trumpet, James Pankow on trombone, Robert Lamm on keyboards, and Peter Cetera on bass. Parazaider's primary musical role in the band has consisted of playing woodwinds on James Pankow's horn arrangements. Never a prolific writer, Parazaider's compositional contributions ("It Better End Soon: 2nd Movement", "Free Country", "Aire", "Devil's Sweet", "Window Dreamin'") have been few relative to the other members.
Parazaider performs the highly recognizable flute solo in the Chicago hit "Colour My World", which became a popular 'slow dance' song at high school proms during the 1970s.[2][3][4] The band's 1973 hit "Just You 'n' Me" also features a Parazaider solo, on soprano sax.
He is also a member of Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia and was given the National Citation, being recognized as Signature Sinfonian along with fellow Chicago members and Sinfonians on August 26, 2009.[6]
A member of Chicago from its inception, Parazaider continued to tour extensively with the band until his retirement from touring in 2017 due to a heart condition.[7][8] He is now included on the band's "Tribute to Founding Members" page alongside Kath, Seraphine, and Cetera.[9]
Parazaider married JacLynn Bryce in 1966. They have two daughters, Laura and Felicia. [10] He is the only one of Chicago's founding members to remain with his first wife. He is of Croatian descent.[citation needed]
In April 2021, several years after his retirement from touring with Chicago, Parazaider announced that he had been diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease.[11]
^Shaughnessey, Dennis (January 15, 2010). "You name it, he'll play it". www.lowellsun.com. Lowell, Massachusetts: MediaNews Group. Retrieved March 29, 2019.
^Staff Report (April 14, 2009). "Memories of prom night". The State Journal-Register. Springfield, Illinois: GateHouse Media. Retrieved March 29, 2019.
