‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’ house band pays tribute to Cleto Escobedo III

Jimmy Kimmel Live! honoured the legacy of its longtime bandleader Cleto Escobedo III by renaming its house band.

For the past 23 years, the band was known as Cleto and the Cletones as a nod to Escobedo’s leadership and musical legacy.

On Monday’s episode, the new title sequence debuted the name The Cletones.

This is the first time in more than two decades that the band performed under a different banner.

Escobedo breathed his last on November 11 at age 59.

The late-night talk show host took to Instagram to announce the death of the renowned saxophone player.

"Early this morning, we lost a great friend, father, son, musician and man, my longtime bandleader Cleto Escobedo III,” 58-year-old penned an emotional note.

“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."

Escobedo founded the band Cleto and the Cletones in 1995 including his father, Cleto Escobedo Jr.

When the show was launched in 2003, Kimmel’s childhood friend came to his help and led the music on the show since then.