http://www.californiachronicle.com/articles/yb/145453674

By Elinor J. Brecher, The Miami Herald
May 27--Larry Warrilow, a multitalented Miami musician and arranger who was the groundbreaking electric bassist Jaco Pastorius's creative soul mate, shared in a Barbra Streisand gold record, and toured worldwide as a sound engineer, died of an apparent heart attack on May 18.

Friends found him at his South Miami condo two days later, said Steve Warrilow, one of three siblings. Warrilow, who had undergone cardiac surgery several years ago, was 64.

Born Lawrence David Warrilow on June 24, 1945 in Fort Lauderdale, the Miami Norland High School graduate always loved music, especially classical. But he planned a career in the aerospace industry.

Brother Steve said that as a youngster, Larry would "get up at 5:30 in the morning and take [televised] Sunrise Semester college physics courses."

He was accepted to the U.S. Naval Academy at Annapolis "but ended up color-blind, so the Navy wouldn't take him," said his sister-in-law, Jane Warrilow.

He went to Florida State University and was one semester shy of a physics degree when his Vietnam draft notice arrived.

He served in the Air Force in Germany.

Warrilow "got the music bug" playing in rock bands at FSU, said Peter Graves, who led his childhood friend in local bands.

Back in Carol City after the service in the late '60s, Warrilow linked up with Graves in lounge bands called Gangplank and Nantucket Sound.

"He could pick any instrument and play it," his sister-in-law said: "bass guitar, keyboard, any string instrument. . . He had the mind of a genius."

For five years, the Peter Graves Orchestra was "the house band at [Joe Namath's] Bachelors III" in Fort Lauderdale, Graves recalled, backing big names like Brenda Lee, Mel Torme, the Supremes, Frankie Valli, the Temptations and Nancy Wilson.

As an arranger, Warrilow was "literally self-taught," said Graves, who gave him pointers, then watched him "beat me by a mile."

After Pastorius joined the Bachelors III band, "he and Larry formed a very special bond," Graves said. The two would stay up nights "sitting on the floor in the apartment in Hollywood, sheet music scattered all over the place, going at [arrangements] hour after hour."

Since 2004, Warrilow and Graves had been collaborating on Jaco Pastorius Big Band tribute albums. "The Jaco project was huge in both of our lives," Graves said.

The Grammy-nominated Pastorius died in 1987 after being beaten at a Wilton Manors club.

A multiple trumpet/trombone/saxophone combo played Warrilow's arrangement of Pastorius's signature song Continuum at Pastorius's funeral.

Among his professional credits: strings arranger on Guilty Pleasures, with Barry Gibb of the Bee Gees, which went gold in 2005. Warrilow worked with Gibb at Criteria Recording Studios in North Miami Beach, while Streisand recorded the remake of an earlier album in California.

A sought-after musical copyist in the pre-computer age, Warrilow also worked with Ziggy Marley, wrote incidental music for the first episode of Miami Vice, and engineered sound at music festivals and for jazz musician Bob James.

"As a copyist, his penmanship is on display at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame for the Bee Gees' Saturday Night Fever recordings," according to Graves.

When he wasn't working, Warrilow spent some of his spare time playing online golf against opponents all over the world.

In an interview on the Links Country Club site, he explained that he "started out playing pop music as a guitarist, but was lucky enough to have run with some talented and informed jazz players from the start. . ."

He said that as an arranger, his inspirations included Oliver Nelson, Billy Byers, Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn and Gil Evans.

He said he enjoyed listening to chamber music and reading history and had "a certain guilty pleasure gobbling up mysteries."

In addition to brother Steve, of Dresden, Tenn., Warrilow is survived by stepmother Louise Warrilow of San Antonio, Texas; brothers Dave, of Hawthorne, Fla., and John, of Houston; and sister Sue Rifenburg of Lawrenceville, Ga.

A memorial service is planned.

Remembering Larry Warrilow - A reminder that there will be a memorial service for beloved musician/composer/arranger Larry Warrilow at Jaco Pastorius park community center in Ft. Lauderdale, Thursday June 24 from 6-7 PM.
There will be a saxophone octet consisting of some of Florida's best players playing Larry's arrangement of Jaco's "Continuum."

Directions to Jaco Park:

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode&q=4000+Dixie+Highway%2C+Oakland+Park%2C+FL&sll=37.0625%2C-95.677068&sspn=32.885543%2C55.722656&ie=UTF8&hq&hnear=4000+N+Dixie+Hwy%2C+Oakland+Park%2C+Broward%2C+Florida+33334&ll=26.171924%2C-80.14183&spn=0.036359%2C0.054417&z=14