In Brazilian jazz circles, Arnaldo DeSouteiro commands the sort of respect and admiration that Orrin Keepnews and Quincy Jones enjoy in the United States -- he is a heavyweight producer who has worked with his share of major Brazilian artists, just as Keepnews and Jones are famous for the American artists they've worked with. The list of Brazilian stars DeSouteiro has produced includes Joćo Gilberto, Luiz Bonfį, Dom Um Romao, Carlos Barbosa-Lima, Yana Purim, Mario Castro-Neves, and Joćo Donato, among many others. Comparisons to Keepnews and Jones are valid not only because of DeSouteiro's work as producer, but also because of the historic perspective he brings to the table; DeSouteiro is a musicologist/historian who has an encyclopedic knowledge of Brazilian music (both jazz and pop) as well as non-Brazilian jazz and the European classical tradition.
