Cleto Escobedo III, the longtime musical director of Jimmy Kimmel Live!, has died at the age of 59.<\/p>\n
Escobedo, a childhood friend of the ABC late-night host, died Tuesday morning. The cause of death was not revealed.<\/p>\n
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Escobedo has worked on JKL! since it premiered in 2003 and was the leader of Cleto and the Cletones, the late-night show\u2019s in-house band.<\/p>\n
\u201cEarly this morning, we lost a great friend, father, son, musician and man, my longtime bandleader Cleto Escobedo III,\u201d Kimmel wrote on social media. \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
Kimmel missed Thursday\u2019s taping of Jimmy Kimmel Live! as a result of Escobedo\u2019s illness.<\/p>\n
The comedian has talked previously about how he wanted saxophonist Escobedo to be his bandleader when he scored the late-night gig. \u201cI was nervous, because I thought they\u2019d say, \u2018We don\u2019t want your friend to be the bandleader,’\u201d Kimmel told ABC7. \u201cSo, I took the president of ABC [Lloyd Braun] to see him play with his band, and he loved it.\u201d<\/p>\n
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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.<\/p>\n
Escobedo said he was on tour with Marc Anthony when he got the call to be on the show and started putting the band together.<\/p>\n
\u201cI knew it had to be very versatile \u2014 able to play every kind of music and play things on the fly,\u201d Escobedo told International Musician. \u201cI started playing with my guitar player, Toshi Yanagi, the year I got to town, and the other guys I\u2019d played with in different bands. And, of course, my dad I\u2019ve known my whole life.\u201d<\/p>\n
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