Saxophonist Cleto Escobedo III, a childhood friend of comedian Jimmy Kimmel who served as leader of the house band on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” since the show’s inception, died Tuesday. He was 59.

Kimmel, 57, announced Escobedo’s death on Instagram. He did not cite a cause or say where Escobedo died.

In his social media tribute, Kimmel said that he and Escobedo had been “inseparable since I was 9 years old.”

“Early this morning, we lost a great friend, father, son, musician and man, my longtime bandleader Cleto Escobedo III,” Kimmel wrote in an Instagram post on Tuesday. “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 delivered an emotional opening monologue on Tuesday night’s show as he shared stories about his “great friend, father, son, musician and man.”

“We’ve been on the air for almost 23 years and I’ve had to do some hard monologues along the way, but this one’s the hardest because late last night, early this morning, we lost someone very special who was much too young,” Kimmel told his audience.

“We had so many adventures. We would laugh so hard, we had our own language,” Kimmel added. “We loved all the same things. Baseball, fishing, boxing, (Muhammad) Ali, Richard Pryor, Eddie Murphy, Woody Allen, Michael McDonald, Huey Lewis, Stevie Wonder, and most of all David Letterman.”

Escobedo’s mother, Sylvia, was in the audience on Tuesday.

“Since the fourth grade, I’ve known them; 47 years, these people have never yelled at me, not one time,” he said.

Escobedo’s band, Cleto and the Cletones, joined Kimmel’s show when it first aired in 2003.

In a 2013 interview with Variety, Kimmel said that Escobedo was a “musical prodigy.”

“When ABC offered me my show, I prayed that they’d let me hire Cleto, and to my amazement they agreed, sight unseen,” Kimmel told the entertainment outlet, adding that he took ABC executives to watch Escobedo and his band play live.

“Of course I wanted great musicians, but I wanted somebody I had chemistry with,” Kimmel told WABC. “And there’s nobody in my life I have better chemistry with than him.”

“They were blown away, and they loved the idea that he’s my best friend and that his dad’s also in the band,” Kimmel told Variety.

Escobedo said he was always grateful to get the job.

“I always thank him for this gig because he could have tried to get somebody that was established and would help the show more, being a bigger name or whatever,” Escobedo told KABC in a 2013 interview. “But he trusted me with this job, and I’ve tried to do the best I can.”

Kimmel also spoke about his relationship with Escobedo in a 2016 segment celebrating the musician’s 50th birthday.

The comedian said he met Escobedo in 1977 after moving to Las Vegas from Brooklyn, New York, when they became neighbors. In the birthday tribute, Kimmel discussed his early relationship with Escobedo and shared photographs of the two friends as youths.

During a 2021 interview, Escobedo talked about being hired to lead the band on Kimmel’s show.

“I think I was in Atlanta, and Jimmy called and said, ‘Hey man, I think I’m gonna have this show. Do you wanna be my bandleader?’” he said. “Of course I was like ‘Yes.’

“It’s been the best gig ever.”

Escobedo played the alto, tenor and soprano saxophones and also sang as part of Kimmel’s house band. Through the years, he toured with Paula Abdul, Marc Anthony and Earth, Wind & Fire’s Phillip Bailey. Escobedo’s father, Cleto Escobedo Jr., is also a part of the Kimmel show’s house band.

Variety confirmed that Escobedo’s condition was the “personal reason” Kimmel’s show was abruptly canceled on Nov. 6. “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” will return on Monday with Kimmel as host.

A rerun of the Oct. 28 episode of Kimmel’s show was aired instead. Scheduled on Nov. 6 were “Malice” star David Duchovny, “Stranger Things” star Joe Keery and musician Madison Beer.

Before announcing the show would take “the next couple of nights off,” Kimmel told his audience to “Cherish your friends.”

“We’re not here forever,” he said.

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