Ricky Dillard & Jazz Legend Ron Carter Unite for Album

• The project marks a first-of-its-kind fusion of gospel’s sacred power with jazz’s masterful improvisation and is now available on all major streaming platforms.
• A deeply personal work for Carter, Sweet, Sweet Spirit is dedicated to the memory of his late mother, Mrs. Willie O. Carter, whose love for hymns shaped both the Carter family home and their Detroit church community.
• See video of the lead single "Farther Along" Ron Carter Jazz Bassist, Ricky Dillard & New Generation Chorale

Gospel Icon Ricky Dillard and Jazz Legend Ron Carter

Unite for Unprecedented Hybrid Album
Sweet, Sweet Spirit 
Album Available Everywhere Today!

In a landmark collaboration uniting two of America’s most influential musical traditions, jazz icon Ron Carter and gospel trailblazer Ricky Dillard officially release their groundbreaking joint album, Sweet, Sweet Spirit. The project marks a first-of-its-kind fusion of gospel’s sacred power with jazz’s masterful improvisation and is now available on all major streaming platforms.

Released via Blue Note Records x Motown Gospel, the album’s uplifting new single, “Farther Along,” debuts today alongside an official music video directed by Paul C. Rivera and produced by Justin Green.

A deeply personal work for Carter, Sweet, Sweet Spirit is dedicated to the memory of his late mother, Mrs. Willie O. Carter, whose love for hymns shaped both the Carter family home and their Detroit church community. The album reimagines those treasured a cappella hymns—once sung by congregations without accompaniment—through Carter’s legendary bass and the powerful, soaring choral arrangements of Ricky Dillard.

The project’s roots date back nearly three decades, when Carter recorded bass interpretations of his mother’s favorite hymns so she could listen during her final weeks. What began as an intimate act of love and remembrance has evolved into a historic artistic statement.

With Dillard’s unmatched command of gospel choir music and Carter’s unparalleled jazz legacy, Sweet, Sweet Spirit creates a reverent yet innovative soundscape—where choir becomes instrument, bass becomes storyteller, and two deeply rooted Black American art forms converge into something entirely new.

Here’s a video of the new single “Farther Along”