I was very saddened to hear of the recent death of Rainer Schmidt.

Rainer worked very hard at his craft and never stopped learning. I knew him well as I had his trumpet bell a few inches behind my head for dozens of shows at Toronto’s O’Keefe Center.

Rainer was lead trumpet for all of the shows that came to the O’Keefe and was a very versatile musician. In the early days at the O’Keefe, if there wasn’t a trumpet part in the show, he would play violin.

He had many, many interests and was very skilled at a lot of  things. As a younger man he was an enthusiastic member of the local judo club. Well into his 70’s, Rainer was still working as a ski instructor in the Blue Mountain area. During breaks in shows, he would study stock market material with great interest. I remember asking him about brokers and he gave me the best information I’ve ever heard: Miles, if they knew what they were talking about, they’d spend their days out on a yacht, not on the telephone (spoken in that wonderful German accent of his).

Rainer was also a pilot and had facsimile airplane controls in his apartment. I remember going to visit him and being told by his wife that Rainer would be out in a few minutes. He’s landing in Detroit.

Rest in peace!