The late-night show\u2019s opening in its Monday, Nov. 17 episode looked a little different. The program’s house band, which used to be called \u201cCleto and the Cletones,\u201d renamed itself to \u201cThe Cletones\u201d following leader Escobedo\u2019s death a week prior.<\/p>\n
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Ethan Miller\/Getty<\/p>\n
Cleto Escobedo III<\/p>\n
The artist died at the age of 59 on Tuesday, Nov. 11 at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center. Jimmy Kimmel<\/a> shared the news in an Instagram<\/a> post the same day.<\/p>\n “Early this morning, we lost a great friend, father, son, musician and man, my longtime bandleader Cleto Escobedo III,” he wrote. “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\u2019s wife, children and parents in your prayers.”<\/p>\n Kimmel, 58, went on to host Live! that night, tearfully opening his monologue<\/a> with a special tribute to his childhood best friend, calling it the “hardest” one he’s ever had to deliver.<\/p>\n “Everyone loves Cleto … everyone here at the show,” Kimmel said. “We are devastated by this. It’s not … It’s just not fair.”<\/p>\n “Even though I’m heartbroken to lose him, I’m going to take yet another lesson from him and acknowledge how lucky I was to have him literally at my side<\/a> for so many years,” the host added.<\/p>\n Cleto Escobedo Sr., who was also in the band with his son playing tenor and alto saxophones, performed during the emotional Nov. 11 taping.<\/p>\n Kimmel later cancelled the following shows on Nov. 12 and Nov. 13.<\/p>\n Randy Holmes\/Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty <\/p>\n Jimmy Kimmel and Cleto Escobedo III<\/p>\n According to a death certificate obtained by PEOPLE, Escobedo\u2019s immediate cause of death<\/a> was cardiogenic shock, while vasodilatory shock, disseminated intravascular coagulation and alcoholic cirrhosis of the liver are listed as underlying causes.<\/p>\n The document further stated that other conditions that contributed to the musician\u2019s death were sepsis, graft versus host disease, immunosuppression, chronic kidney disease and pneumonia.<\/p>\n Never miss a story \u2014 sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter<\/a> to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer\u200b\u200b, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.<\/p>\n Cleto and the Cletones provided the music for Live! since the show’s 2003 premiere. In 2021, Escobedo even called it the “best gig ever.”<\/p>\n “I play sax because he played sax when I was a kid \u2014 my dad sacrificed a lot for me,” he said during an ABC Hispanic Latinx Heritage Month featurette<\/a> at the time.<\/p>\n “He was a musician for many years, he was on the road a lot before I was born,\u201d Escobedo continued. \u201cAnd then when I started going to school, he quit playing just so he could be home with me and got a job as a busboy at Caesar’s Palace and worked there for 30 years.\u201d<\/p>\n Read the original article on People<\/a><\/p>\n![\"Randy](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/087656f4aea7391ede4ebd587f0689f5.jpeg\"\/)
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