Robert Michaels is an acoustic guitarist and composer from Toronto and a virtuoso musician of Afro Cuban and Latin sounds, rock, jazz, and classical. Paradiso, his 1996 self-released debut album, was certified platinum. 2003's Allegro took home a Juno for Instrumental Album of the Year. His eponymous, double-length fifth album received three nominations. 2009's widely celebrated Cubamenco offered a seamless meld of Spanish romantic melodies, danceable rhythms, and Cuban styles. 2013's Via Italia traced his lineage back to his mother's village in a modern realization of tradition through modern compositions, arrangements, and covers. In 2019, Michaels' approach graced his Holiday Classics collection.