Cleto and the Cletones is the moniker of the "house band" on the ABC

American Broadcasting Company

The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...

-TV late-night television program, Jimmy Kimmel Live

Jimmy Kimmel Live

Jimmy Kimmel Live! is an American late-night talk show, created and hosted by Jimmy Kimmel and broadcast on ABC.The nightly hour-long show made its debut on January 26, 2003, following Super Bowl XXXVII. Jimmy Kimmel Live! is produced by Jackhole Productions in association with ABC Studios...

(2003–present).
Cleto Escobedo III is the leader of the sextet

Sextet

A sextet is a formation containing exactly six members. It is commonly associated with vocal or musical instrument groups, but can be applied to any situation where six similar or related objects are considered a single unit....

, and plays the alto, tenor, and soprano saxophone

Saxophone

The saxophone is a conical-bore transposing musical instrument that is a member of the woodwind family. Saxophones are usually made of brass and played with a single-reed mouthpiece similar to that of the clarinet. The saxophone was invented by the Belgian instrument maker Adolphe Sax in 1846...

s on the show, as well as occasionally singing both on camera and off (for comedy bits and other musical segments). He grew up as a neighbor of host Jimmy Kimmel

Jimmy Kimmel

James Christian "Jimmy" Kimmel is an American television host and comedian. He is the host of Jimmy Kimmel Live!, a late-night talk show that airs on ABC. Prior to that, Kimmel was best known as the co-host of Comedy Central's The Man Show and Win Ben Stein's Money...

 in Las Vegas

Las Vegas, Nevada

Las Vegas is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and is also the county seat of Clark County, Nevada. Las Vegas is an internationally renowned major resort city for gambling, shopping, and fine dining. The city bills itself as The Entertainment Capital of the World, and is famous...

 and after briefly attending UNLV, he joined the band Santa Fe (now Santa Fe and The Fat City Horns).

Escobedo's big break came when Paula Abdul

Paula Abdul

Paula Julie Abdul is an American singer-songwriter, dancer, choreographer, actress and television personality.In the 1980s, Abdul rose from cheerleader for the Los Angeles Lakers to highly sought-after choreographer at the height of the music video era before scoring a string of pop music-R&B hits...

 invited him to perform with her on tour. Since that time, Escobedo has been based in Los Angeles, and performed on many commercial jingles and also toured with Marc Anthony

Marc Anthony

Marc Anthony is an American singer-songwriter, actor and producer. Anthony is the top selling tropical salsa artist of all time. The two-time Grammy and three-time Latin Grammy–winner has sold more than 30 million albums worldwide. He is best known for his Latin salsa numbers and ballads...

 and Earth, Wind & Fire

Earth, Wind & Fire

Earth, Wind & Fire is an American soul and R&B band formed in Chicago, Illinois, in 1969 by Verdine and Maurice White. Also known as EWF, the band has won six Grammy Awards and four American Music Awards. They have been inducted into both the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Vocal Group Hall of...

's Phillip Bailey.

His father, Cleto Escobedo, Jr., also plays tenor and alto saxophones on the show, and has an illustrious past as saxophonist with the groundbreaking late 1960s rock & soul band Los Blues. The band had close ties with The Righteous Brothers

The Righteous Brothers

The Righteous Brothers were the musical duo of Bill Medley and Bobby Hatfield. They recorded from 1963 through 1975, and continued to perform until Hatfield's death in 2003...

, and recorded one album at Chess Records

Chess Records

Chess Records was an American record label based in Chicago, Illinois. It specialized in blues, R&B, soul, gospel music, early rock and roll, and occasional jazz releases....

 that is out-of-print. Los Blues counted Sammy Davis, Jr.

Sammy Davis, Jr.

Samuel George "Sammy" Davis Jr. was an American entertainer and was also known for his impersonations of actors and other celebrities....

 and Elvis Presley

Elvis Presley

Elvis Aaron Presley was one of the most popular American singers of the 20th century. A cultural icon, he is widely known by the single name Elvis. He is often referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll" or simply "the King"....

 as fans. Escobedo, Jr. had hung up his horn until Kimmel called him to join his house band.

Other members of the Cletones are keyboardist Jeff Babko, guitarist Toshi Yanagi (from Japan), bassist Jimmy Earl

Jimmy Earl

Jimmy Earl is an American jazz musician and composer. He has released two studio albums and recorded extensively. He has toured the world with major artists. He is ranked #22 on the DigitalDreamDoor list of greatest fusion bassists...

, and drummer Jonathan Dresel.