Cleto Escobedo III, the longtime bandleader of Jimmy Kimmel Live!, has passed away. The saxophonist, who led the show’s house band, Cleto and the Cletones, since its debut in 2003, had been Jimmy Kimmel’s close friend since their elementary school days in Las Vegas. He was 59 years old. A cause of death has not been released.
“Early this morning, we lost a great friend, father, son, musician and man, my longtime bandleader Cleto Escobedo III,” Kimmel wrote on Instagram yesterday.
“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.”
When ABC first approached Kimmel about hosting a late-night show, he immediately suggested Escobedo as the musical director for its house band. To help convince the network, Kimmel arranged for ABC executives to attend one of Escobedo’s live performances.
The station’s leadership was not only impressed by his magnetic stage presence but also touched by the close friendship between Kimmel and Escobedo, and by the fact that Escobedo’s father was also part of the band.
Born Cleto Valentine Escobedo III on August 23, 1966, in Las Vegas, Nevada, he began playing the saxophone at age 11, taught by his father, a seasoned tenor saxophonist who performed regularly and filled their home with music.
“I distinctly remember my dad was playing in Hawaii,” Escobedo recalled in a 2024 podcast interview. “I 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.”
Around that same time, Escobedo met Kimmel, and the two bonded instantly over their shared sense of humor. Their childhood friendship grew as they played baseball on neighborhood streets, had frequent sleepovers, stayed up late watching The Late Show With David Letterman, and went fishing with Escobedo’s father. Over the years, both men described their relationship as more like that of brothers, an easy, joyful, and lifelong bond.
After attending the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, Escobedo began performing along the city’s famous Strip with the popular cover band Santa Fe. His career took off after he auditioned for Paula Abdul’s touring band, a gig that opened doors to work with major artists like Luis Miguel and Marc Anthony, and ultimately led to a solo record deal with Virgin Records.
When Kimmel later offered him the role of bandleader for Jimmy Kimmel Live!, Escobedo saw it as the perfect opportunity to include his father in the project, something that became one of the most meaningful aspects of his career.
“For me, I was very happy to give him back the gift of music,” Escobedo said. “He gave up music for me, to be with me, to raise me. He had loved playing all those years, and I had followed in his footsteps. To bring him back to it was really fulfilling.”