Cleto Escobedo III is being remembered by one of his earliest musical heroes.
Paul Shaffer, who was David Letterman’s bandleader for over 30 years,, paid tribute to Escobedo in a statement shared with LateNighter, recalling the Jimmy Kimmel Live! music director’s “soulful” playing and “princely behavior.”
Escobedo died early Tuesday. He was 59.
As Jimmy Kimmel recalled in a moving monologue Tuesday night, his friendship with Escobedo’s stretched back to their childhood in Las Vegas, where the pair bonded over their shared love of Late Night with David Letterman and Shaffer’s work with the World’s Most Dangerous Band. Years later, Escobedo would count Shaffer not just as an inspiration, but as a collaborator and a friend.
“When Cleto first visited me at my apartment in New York, our rapport was immediate,” Shaffer recalled today. “I had worked with him once when he was with Marc Anthony, and I learned then of his kindness. But as our friendship began to develop, his princely behavior became apparent.”
Their connection deepened over the years. In 2017, Shaffer joined Escobedo and the Cletones for a weeklong Jimmy Kimmel Live! residency in New York. “Each time I sat in with his band, he made it so comfortable,” Shaffer said. “It was a pleasure. His style of leading involved zero pressure. I took note.”
Kimmel has often credited the Letterman–Shaffer dynamic as a model for his own late-night partnership with Escobedo. “I wanted Cleto to lead my band,” Kimmel said. “We grew up watching Dave and Paul, and the idea that anyone other than him would lead the band was terrifying. It had to be him.”
Reflecting on his friend’s passing, Shaffer offered a final note of gratitude and affection. “Cleto, the world is less joyous without you,” he said. “Your horn was soulful, and you sang like an angel. I know you’ve got a great band in heaven already.”
