Best known as meteorologist and feature reporter for KUSI-TV, many music fans also know Dave Scott is also a San Diego jazz institution. A regular at area nightspots since the late seventies, the trombonist and his band Monsoon — featuring pianist Irving Flores, bassist Justin Myles Grinnell, saxophonist Bill Shreeve and drummer Kevin Koch — have their own Monday night residency at Croce’s Jazz Bar, now in its eighth year. Scott arrived in the area at the age of one in 1958, later spending part of his childhood in Hawaii. He came to the trombone by accident. A youthful ukulele player, his signature instrument came about from his seating choice on the first day of band class. “The band instructor got to me and said, ‘What do you want to play?’ and I said, ‘I don’t know,’” Scott recalled. “He said, ‘Well, you’re sitting in the trombone section, so reach back there and grab a trombone.” Simple as that, Scott fell in love with the instrument and soon starting a paper route to raise money to buy his own. He returned to San Diego in time to finish his education at Grossmont High School, quickly becoming part of the local music scene, including nine years alongside Fro Brigham. He’s also been a sideman with some of the area’s most notable players since the late seventies, a regular as a sideman with the likes of Daniel Jackson, Glen Fisher and Hollis Gentry. Scott has released several albums, most recently 2005’s “In A Fog.” However, his most-heard piece of music is the theme music to KUSI’s “Good Morning, San Diego.” Though Scott is a lifelong jazz fan, his love of melody has seen him take musical detours, including a stint in a cruise-ship rock band the Hitmen, where his duties included playing the part of Elvis and Buddy Holly. “I learned guitar enough to play three chords,” he said. “I love jazz, but I also like melody. The Beatles are a perfect example. Their music changed over the years, but their melodies were so strong. There’s a reason why people remember songs like that, standards. It’s melody.” With more than three decades on local stages, Scott is clear on the best part of being a musician. “Hand’s down, it’s being in the moment live,” he said. “When you’re feeling good and the band is playing good, you have those moments live that you can’t duplicate in the recording session. You can’t duplicate anywhere. The best things in life are priceless like that. You can’t buy them.” Is it hard to balance his on-air time and his life as a musician? “Yes, it is,” he laughed. “I have great support at KUSI because I don’t let it affect my job, but there have been moments when I finished the six o’clock news and rushed off to Croce’s, rushed off to another gig, done that for a couple of hours and then come right back for the ten and eleven (o’clock news).” While Scott has no plans to tour in the near future, he does have new music planned, with two albums already recorded. “The best thing is that I’ve (occasionally) blended meteorology and music. I write a lot of songs where I use weather metaphors,” he said, citing songs like “On A Rainy Day” and “Samba Del Sol.” “You take in life your strengths and you focus on them,” he said. “The great thing for me now is to write music and have it performed. I write lyrics and music. It’s kind of like writing a story for the news,” Scott said. “It’s the same time frame. You have a couple of minutes to tell a story and that’s what I do. Whether it’s on the news or through jazz.” DAVE SCOTT Croce’s Jazz Bar, 802 Fifth Ave., Mondays at 7:30 p.m., admission $5, 21 and up, www.croces.com