Cleto Escobedo III, the longtime musical director of Jimmy Kimmel Live!, has died at the age of 59.
Escobedo, who was a childhood friend of the ABC late-night host, died on Tuesday morning. The cause of death was not revealed.
Escobedo has worked on JKL! since it premiered in 2003 and was the leader of Cleto and the Cletones, the in-house band.
“Early this morning, we lost a great friend, father, son, musician and man, my longtime bandleader Cleto Escobedo III,” Kimmel wrote on social media. “To 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’s wife, children and parents in your prayers.”
Kimmel missed Thursday’s taping of Jimmy Kimmel Live! as a result of Escobedo’s illness.
The comedian has previously talked about how he wanted saxophonist Escobedo to be his bandleader when he scored the late-night gig. “I was nervous, because I thought they’d say, ‘We don’t want your friend to be the band leader,’” Kimmel told ABC7. “So, I took the president of ABC [Lloyd Braun] to see him play with his band, and he loved it.”
Before working with Kimmel, Escobedo had his own record deal and toured with artists including Earth, Wind and Fire and Paula Abdul. His father Cleto Escobedo Jr also played in Cleto and the Cletones.
Escobedo said that he was on tour with Marc Anthony when he got the call to be on the show and started putting together the band.
“I knew it had to be very versatile—able to play every kind of music and play things on the fly,” Escobedo told International Musician. “I started playing with my guitar player, Toshi Yanagi, the year I got to town and the other guys I’d played with in different bands. And, of course, my dad I’ve known my whole life.”
