At 3 A.M. on Friday, February 15, music producer Scott Harding was returning home from a late night mixing session. The cab he was riding in was broadsided by a stolen car, and the impact crushed his T5 vertebrae, leaving him partially paralyzed. Harding’s condition is serious, and like many dedicated musicians, he is without health insurance and is facing very large medical and legal fees.

A Vancouver native and longtime New Yorker, Harding—affectionately known to friends and fans as “Scotty Hard”—has enjoyed a long and flourishing career as a producer and engineer in the hip-hop and jazz genres. His list of production credits includes the Grammy Award-winning Chris Rock CD Never Scared, and an impressive artist list that includes Björk, Badar Ali Khan, New Kingdom, Charlie Hunter, Tricky, Anti-Pop Consortium, Crooklyn Dub, DJ Logic, Medeski Martin & Wood, Material, Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, Wu-Tang Clan, Vernon Reid, Dirty Dozen Brass Band, PM Dawn, De La Soul, Boogie Down Productions, Brand New Heavies, Kool Keith, Prince Paul, Biz Markie, Chubb Rock, and Teo Macero—to name but a few.

Harding has built a sterling reputation not only as an ace producer, but also as a multi-instrumentalist. His solo project The Return of Kill Dog E, released on the Wordsound label in 1999, showcased his punk-laced guitar chops, while DJ Logic’s 1999 debut Project Logic found him tickling a Fender Rhodes piano when he wasn’t behind the mixing desk. On the lighter side, Harding is also an unrivaled wellspring of knowledge when it comes to jazz history, and could often be heard holding forth at record release parties and studio sessions with his enthusiastic assessments of classic avant-garde and bebop albums. He befriended legendary Columbia producer Teo Macero (Miles Davis, Charles Mingus, Thelonious Monk), and has become a fixture among A-list musicians for his keen ears, commitment to craft, and honest and easygoing demeanor.

The need to raise cash in order to handle Harding’s affairs is very real. His friends and the dedicated musical community of which he has long been a part have quickly united, offering performances in the form of a benefit concert on March 19 at New York City’s Highline Ballroom for the Scotty Hard Trust—a special account that has been set up by friends of Harding to help defray the cost of his short-term financial needs through private monetary donations.

For a complete listing of the artists who will be performing, visit www.highlineballroom.com. VIP tickets include reserved seating and an after-show VIP meet & greet with the performing musicians.

Personal donations can be made directly payable to “The Scotty Hard Trust” and sent c/o Heesok Chang, 970 Kent Ave #401, Brooklyn, NY 11205.