Born in Ravensburg, Rainer Böhm has been playing the piano since the age of four. In 2001 he completed his studies of jazz and popular music at the Mannheim State Academy of Music and Performing Arts with Joerg Reiter, majoring in jazz piano. After further studies in jazz arrangement, he passed his concert exam with John Taylor at the State Academy of Music and Dance in Cologne in 2004, majoring in jazz piano. As a scholarship holder of the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD), he spent two years studying at City University in New York City, where he graduated in 2009 with top marks and a Master of Arts degree.

Rainer Böhm has received numerous nationally and internationally renowned awards and prizes: For two years in a row he was 2nd prizewinner at the Montreux Jazz Piano Solo Competition (2000 and 2001), won first prize at the first International Jazz Piano Competition in Freiburg and was awarded the Jazz Prize of the Nürnberger Nachrichten (2002) and the Jazz Prize of the State of Baden-Württemberg (2010). At the Jazz Hoeilaart International 2002 (Belgium), at the International Jazz Contest in Getxo 2005 (Spain) and at the New German Jazz Prize (2016) he won the prize for the best soloist as well as the 1st prize in the ensemble evaluation.

With the band L 14, 16 he was included with two CD recordings (2003 and 2007) in the best list of the quarterly prize of the German record critics, and recordings of different formations, in which he participates, were several times appointed CD of the Month in various specialized magazines (Audio, Stereoplay, Piano News etc.). In total, he has appeared on more than 60 CD and LP recordings, among others for the record labels ACT, Pirouet, Care, Traumton and Double Moon. Rainer Böhm is also a scholarship holder of the Kunststiftung Baden-Württemberg (2010) and the International Bodensee Conference (2015). In addition, he was nominated for the ECHO Jazz (2015) in the categories « Ensemble of the Year national » and « Instrumentalist of the Year national Piano » and the SWR Jazz Prize (2015).

From 2004 to 2016, Rainer Böhm taught piano, improvisation and ensemble conducting at several German universities (Mannheim, Mainz and Stuttgart). As professor for jazz piano and ensemble conducting, he has been teaching at the Hochschule für Musik in Nuremberg since November 2016 and at the Mannheim State Academy of Music and Performing Arts since October 2017.

Rainer Böhm has performed with internationally renowned musicians such as John Patitucci, Mark Turner, Kurt Rosenwinkel, John Scofield, Donny McCaslin, Scott Colley, Randy Brecker, Dave Liebman, Ari Hoenig, Marcus Gilmore, Jochen Rückert, Lage Lund, Adam Rogers, Albert Mangelsdorff, Rick Margitza, Rolf Kühn, Max Herre, Joy Denalane and Peter Fox and/or has collaborated with them on various CD productions.