\n<\/p>\n
Cleto Escobedo III<\/a>, the leader of the Jimmy Kimmel Live!<\/em> house band, has died. The saxophonist, who led the late-night TV show\u2019s group, Cleto and the Cletones, from its inception in 2003, was host Jimmy Kimmel\u2019s childhood friend since elementary school in Las Vegas. A cause of death has not been announced. Escobedo was 59 years old.<\/p>\n \u201cEarly this morning, we lost a great friend, father, son, musician and man, my longtime bandleader Cleto Escobedo III,\u201d Kimmel wrote yesterday on Instagram<\/a>. \u201cTo say that we are heartbroken is an understatement. Cleto and I have been inseparable since I was nine years old. The fact that we got to work together every day is a dream neither of us could ever have imagined would come true. Cherish your friends and please keep Cleto\u2019s wife, children and parents in your prayers.\u201d<\/p>\n When ABC approached Kimmel to offer him the late-night show, the host suggested Escobedo as the musical director of its house band. Kimmel ultimately convinced the station to give him a chance by bringing ABC executives to see Escobedo\u2019s ensemble perform live. Not only were they captured by the saxophonist\u2019s live presence, but the station\u2019s executives were also charmed by Kimmel\u2019s close friendship with Escobedo and the fact that Escobedo\u2019s father also played in the band.<\/p>\n Born Cleto Valentine Escobedo III, on August 23, 1966, in Las Vegas, Nevada, he learned to play saxophone as an 11-year-old under the tutelage of his father, who was a longtime tenor saxophonist who played live and regularly spun music around the house. \u201cI distinctly remember my dad was playing in Hawaii,\u201d Escobedo said<\/a> in a 2024 podcast interview. \u201cI was five years old and watching his band and him play, and I used to get teared up watching my dad play. I was so excited by the music of it all.\u201d<\/p>\n Around that age, Escobedo met Kimmel for the first time, and the two immediately hit it off due to a similar taste in comedy. They spent their days playing baseball in neighborhood streets, sleeping over at each others house, staying up late to watch the Late Show With David Letterman<\/em>, and going fishing together with Escobedo\u2019s father. Looking back, both men considered their friendship to be the type of close, jovial, and effortless bond between brothers.<\/p>\n After studying at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, Escobedo started performing along the city\u2019s famed Strip in the popular cover band Santa Fe. Following an audition to join Paula Abdul\u2019s touring band, he got the first big break of his own, joining the pop star on a world tour that ultimately led to gigs with other artists, like Luis Miguel and Marc Anthony, as well as his own record deal on Virgin Records.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n