Industry

Walter Parazaider, Chicago Co-Founder and Reed Player, Dies at 81

Walter Parazaider, a co-founding member of Chicago who played flute and saxophone for the band from its 1967 inception until his 2017 retirement, has died at 81 after a six-year battle with Alzheimer's disease, his family announced Wednesda

Variety Music·Jun 17, 2026·via Variety Music

Walter Parazaider, Chicago Co-Founder and Reed Player, Dies at 81

- Home - Music - Obituaries

Jun 17, 2026 10:04am PT

Walter Parazaider, Chicago Co-Founder, Flutist and Sax Player, Dies at 81

By Chris Willman

Plus Icon

Chris Willman

Senior Music Writer and Chief Music Critic

ChrisWillman

Latest

- Walter Parazaider, Chicago Co-Founder, Flutist and Sax Player, Dies at 81 6 minutes ago

- How Did Rush Become the Hipster Band of 2026? A New Fan’s Appreciation of Their Triumphant Forum Comeback… Aided by a Substitute Drummer Who’s Giving a ‘Fifty Something’ Group a Fresh Spark 19 hours ago

- Taylor Swift’s ‘Toy Story 5’ Song ‘I Knew It, I Knew You’ Bows at No. 1, Becoming Her 15th Hot 100 Topper 2 days ago

See All

- - - - - -

- - - - - - -

Walter Parazaider, a co-founding member of Chicago who was with the band from its start in 1967 through his retirement in 2017, died Wednesday, family members announced. He had been suffering from Alzheimer’s disease for six years.

Parazaider played reed instruments in the band for that 50-year run, and may be most easily recognized for his flute solo in “Colour My World,” though he was more often found on the saxophone. In the band’s earliest conception, he was the only horn player, and he is often credited as the one whose idea it was to bring an entire horn section in as full members of a rock band, a radical idea when Chicago Transit Authority was being founded in ’67, and still a rare concept to this day.