Cleto Escobedo III died on November 11, 2025, at the UCLA Medical Center. He was 59 years old. The musician died of cardiogenic shock, aka his heart not being able to pump enough blood, as per TMZ. The publication obtained the musician's death certificate, which lists the cause of death as cardiogenic shock, with other causes being vasodilatory shock and more.As per the Mayo Clinic, cardiogenic shock takes place when the heart cannot pump enough blood to meet the body's demand for blood. It is life-threatening.Vasodilatory shock is what happens when enough blood does not reach the heart, brain, and kidneys, as per the Cleveland Clinic. There was also disseminated intravascular coagulation in the cause of death, which is defined as a rare blood-clotting disorder that can cause uncontrollable bleeding and organ damage, as per the Cleveland Clinic.Cleto Escobedo III had been apparently struggling with a medical illness for several months. As per the death certificate published by TMZ, he had alcohol cirrhosis of the liver which is the most advanced stage of alcohol related liver disease. Cirrhosis is the stage where inflammation causes permanent damage to the liver, with scar tissue replacing parts of the healthy liver.Other conditions listed include chronic kidney disease, pneumonia being immunosuppressed. Chronic kidney disease is defined as the gradual loss of kidney function and can have multiple factors, as per Mayo Clinic.Late stages of the disease require a kidney transplant or dialysis, or it becomes fatal. Immunosuppressed is a condition where one's immune system does not work properly or is in a weak state.As per the Mayo Clinic, Pneumonia is an infection that inflames the air sacs of one or both lungs. Pneumonia can become fatal for young children, people above 65, or those weak from other diseases or their treatment.Jimmy Kimmel paid tribute to the late Cleto Escobedo IIIJimmy Kimmel paid tribute to the late Cleto Escobedo III. Kimmel announced the passing away of his show's band leader in a live show on the day of his passing on November 11, 2025:"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....Everyone loves Cleto... everyone here at the show..We are devastated by this."The show host continued:"It's not... It's just not fair. He was the nicest, most humble, kind and always funny person.Early this morning Cleto passed away on Uncle Frank's birthday. 11/11 Veterans Day."The show host continued:"And even though I'm heartbroken to lose him, I'm gonna take yet another lesson from him and acknowledge how lucky I was to have him at literally at my side for so many years. I wanna thank the doctors and nurses at UCLA Medical Center for taking incredibly good care of him."Paula Abdul @PaulaAbdulLINKMy heart is heavy today as we say goodbye to the incredible Cleto Escobedo III. I first met Cleto when he was playing sax in a small bar at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas. 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. His talent and energy were undeniable, and he went on to have an amazing career, reuniting with his best friend @jimmykimmel as the bandleader on @JimmyKimmelLive! Cleto was pure light and soul, both on and off stage. Sending so much love to his family and everyone who loved himKimmel ended his tribute by thanking the late musician's family and neighbours and parents and announced that he would not be on air on November 12, and November 13. Cleto Escobedo III led the house band of Kimmel's show, Cleto and the Cletones, from 2003 till his death.Aside from working with Kimmel, Cleto Escobedo III also toured with artists such as Paula Abdul, and Marc Anthony. He also worked with Kimmel on The Comedy Central show The Man Show.