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Paula Abdul is paying tribute to the late Cleto Escobedo III.
The Jimmy Kimmel Live! bandleader died on Tuesday, Nov. 11, and the “Straight Up” icon, 63, then paid tribute to Escobedo — whom she used to tour with — in an emotional post shared to Instagram the same day.
“My heart is heavy today as we say goodbye to the incredible Cleto Escobedo III,” wrote Abdul alongside a video of her and Escobedo performing together on stage.
“I first met Cleto when he was playing sax in a small bar at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas,” recalled the former American Idol judge. “I was putting together my band for my first world tour and the moment I heard him, I knew I had to hire him, even though he didn’t have any touring experience yet.”
Abdul continued, “His talent and energy were undeniable, and he went on to have an amazing career, reuniting with his best friend Jimmy Kimmel as the bandleader on Jimmy Kimmel Live!”
“Cleto was pure light and soul, both on and off stage,” concluded the post’s caption. “Sending so much love to his family and everyone who loved him.”
Jimmy Kimmel announced news of Escobedo’s death at age 59 in an Instagram post earlier in the day.
“Early this morning, we lost a great friend, father, son, musician and man, my longtime bandleader Cleto Escobedo III,” he wrote about the leader of the comedian’s talk show’s house band, Cleto and the Cletones.
“To say that we are heartbroken is an understatement,” continued Kimmel, 57. “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.”
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His tribute concluded, “Cherish your friends and please keep Cleto’s wife, children and parents in your prayers.”
Kimmel later paid tribute to Escobedo on the Nov. 11 episode of Jimmy Kimmel Live!
“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,” he said in the monologue.
