RIP To Chicago's Walt Parazaider: His Best Flute Solos

Walt Parazaider during a performance at the Dodge Theatre in Phoenix, AZ
Photo used by permission of Ken Young & Wikipedia

In the early 70s Chicago meant almost as much to me as The Beatles did and I'll love their early studio albums forever. No one was more disappointed than me when the band's music took too much of a turn toward hornless power ballads. Even so, the sad news of Walter Parazaider's passing at age 81 on June 17th hit me harder than many other deaths of more famous and celebrated musicians. He had been suffering from heart disease and Alzheimer's for close to a decade.

Parazaider earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Depaul University in classical clarinet but after being influenced by The Beatles' "Got to Get You into My Life" he helped organize the band that eventually became Chicago with his friends - guitarist Terry Kath and drummer Danny Seraphine - to play an entirely different kind of long hair music. He was the large band's original and longtime woodwind player from 1967 until his retirement in 2017.

It is worth noting that Walt's marriage to JacLynn Parazaider lasted almost 60 years. He married her in 1966, even before Chicago began. It's a great accomplishment for anyone, but in the world in which he lived it's truly an astounding feat.

Whenever you heard a saxophone, flute or clarinet on a Chicago record it was Parazaider. He mostly played sax as part of the group's famed horn section, but there were times when he was also a featured soloist. I've already covered a few of his great moments in the past - listen to his wonderful, rocking, atonal, sax solo that closes out "Now That You've Gone" and his flute work on "Fancy Colours" as proof.

It's my opinion that many of Parazaider's best solos featured him playing flute. So, to commemorate his passing let's listen to a handful of tracks he played on that very pleasant wind instrument.

"Colour My World" from Chicago II (1970)

"Colour My World" was written by James Pankow as part of his suite, "Ballet for a Girl in Buchannon," that takes up the bulk of side two on Chicago II. The song was released as a single twice, first as the b-side of "Make Me Smile." A year later it reached #7 after being re-released as the flip side of "Beginnings."

Jethro Tull's Ian Anderson grabbed more headlines, but his flute work can't be compared favorably to Parzaider's tone on this low-key ballad sung by Kath. Anderson's breathy playing is no match for Parazaider's smoothness. It sounds like he doesn't come up for air even once.

My wife chose "Colour My World" as our first dance at our wedding reception.

"Happy 'Cause I'm Going Home" from Chicago III (1971)
This deep, jazz track closes out Robert Lamm's "Travel Suite" from Chicago's third double LP release in three years. Its wordless vocals are meant to convey how happy the composer is at returning home after a very long, tiresome tour. Parazaider may have been schooled in classical music and joined a rock band, but this solo proved he had some very nice jazz chops.

"Aire" from Chicago VII (1974)
Another modern, instrumental, jazz track that's also one of Parazaider's rare co-writes. Here he partnered with trombonist/arranger Pankow and Seraphine to prove just how creative the band could be. By this time Chicago wasn't getting much airplay on alternative, FM rock radio anymore, but our local station jumped on this track for a good reason. It proved how creative both Parazaider and the group could be. They never sounded this good again after VII, their last double record set.

"Hot Streets" from Hot Streets (1978) This is Chicago's first LP without James Guercio and Kath. It shows a definite turn toward the mainstream. It's a good album, but except for this Lamm original it's pure pop-rock. Their most eclectic composer and the one who provided them with almost all of their early hits came up with another jazz-rock gem that is definitely the disc's highlight. Parazaider's flute shines again.