Canadian trumpeter Jens Lindemann leans on music as he loses home in L.A. wildfires

By David Friend, The Canadian Press on January 13, 2025.

Canadian trumpeter Jens Lindemann says his love of music will help carry him through the devastating loss of his family home in the Pacific Palisades wildfires.

The 58-year-old Edmonton native is a month away from taking the stage in South Carolina for a concert written by legendary jazz composer Wynton Marsalis.

And he says preparing for that performance will be “a healing moment for the soul” as he faces life after the destruction of the California fires, which continue to burn with tens of thousands of people still under evacuation orders.

As he and his wife fled on Thursday, Lindemann grabbed eight of his 35 trumpets, his Order of Canada pin, and a few other items. Their home was engulfed in flames several hours later, which they learned by seeing the charred property on the TV news.

Other Canadians who lost their homes in nearby fires include actors Eugene Levy, Joshua Jackson and music producer Greg Wells.

Lindemann has temporarily relocated to a friend’s home in Phoenix as he comes to grips with the shock and determines what’s next for his family.

“The pain and the ache is something you can’t really explain,” he says, pointing to his piano and artwork as a couple of the countless items lost in the blaze.

“There’s a hollowness, and the stuff (you saved) just becomes things that you look at, and it makes you miss the fact that you quite simply don’t have a home.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 13, 2024.

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