Robert Nathaniel Dett - Juba from 'In the Bottoms', arranged for Two Flutes and Piano by Matt Johnston. Robert Nathaniel Dett (1882–1943) was a Canadian American composer, pianist, organist, educator, and choral director whose work helped establish African American spirituals and folk music as the foundation for concert music in the classical tradition. Educated at Oberlin, Harvard, and the Eastman School of Music, he became one of the most influential Black musicians of the early twentieth century, particularly through his leadership of the Hampton Institute Choir and his advocacy for the artistic value of Black musical traditions. Juba is the final movement of his piano suite In the Bottoms suite and blends Romantic pianism with rhythms, melodies, and expressive qualities drawn from African American folk music.