Walt Parazaider, one of the founding musicians of Chicago (when it was a really good band doing innovative music) just passed away. Parazaidar wasn't flashy, like trombone player Pankow, but was an integral part of a horn section that for the first 5 or 6 Chicago releases just blew me away. It was listening to this group and it's jazz influences that got me hooked on horn bands and later into jazz (and of course they had a very under rated bassist who played incredibly melodic lines that added much to the music despite the fact that he played Fenders.
My condolences. The early Chicago stuff is amazing.
My high school friend, Rick Johnson's (ironically a trombone player), older brother Tom had the early Chicago albums - such a treat.