Jascha Hoffman, right, and Spiff Wiegand play at Subterranean Arthouse in Berkeley in 2012. (www.architecture.com)

Jascha Hoffman, right, and Spiff Wiegand play at Subterranean Arthouse in Berkeley in 2012. (www.architecture.com)

When I was the copy chief at The New York Sun I hired a few freelancers; one of them was Jascha Hoffman. I enjoyed talking with him; he was interested in literature and music and science, and we discussed those topics, and more. He was energetic and ambitious. I lost track of him when I left the paper and moved to Paris for a job, but thought of him at times when I read or heard something in which I thought he would be interested.

This morning I heard his voice again, after an absence of 15 years. His latest album is out, and NPR’s Weekend Edition Sunday ran a segment on it – the songs are based on obituaries Hoffman wrote. It was a nice reunion for me, and if you follow this link you can get The Afterneath for a great price. Give it a listen. And Jascha, it was nice talking with you.