March winds down and April blows in with two notable shows over the next week and a half. On Sunday, March 22, noted trombonist and Berklee School of Music instructor Phil Wilson makes an appearance at The Press Room in Portsmouth at 6 p.m. The Exeter native will be joined by the Mark Shilansky Trio and superb vocalist and trumpet player Christine Fawson, a member of Boston-based jazz group Syncopation, for an evening of mainstream jazz. Wilson, who was a member of Woody Herman’s excellent band during the early 1960s and later contributed several arrangements to the band of Buddy Rich (including a memorable version of “Mercy, Mercy, Mercy”), is often overlooked by the jazz media due to his ongoing work at Berklee. Sunday will serve as a reminder of what an accomplished and versatile musician Wilson is.

On Friday, April 3, the venerable soul band Tower of Power makes its annual appearance at the Hampton Beach Casino Ballroom. If you like to get your groove on, there’s no better outfit than TOP to do it with. The band is now in its 41st year of stoking audiences with its musical gumbo of soul and funk with a touch of Latin and jazz spice. Plus, any chance to hear lead singer Larry Braggs is well worth the price. The show starts at 8 p.m. Visit www.casinoballroom.com for ticket info.

Lastly, on Monday, April 13, the UNH Traditional Jazz Series concludes with a performance by Jim Fryer’s Borderline Jazz Band, featuring Bria Skonberg on trumpet. The show starts at 8 p.m. in Johnson Theatre in the Paul Creative Arts Center in Durham. Tickets are $8 general admission, $6 for students and seniors. Call 603-862-2290.

The first three months of the year have seen the release of several notable CDs. From the local area comes the latest from Boston-based drummer/composer Steve Langone. Simply titled “Steve Langone Group,” the recording features Langone at the helm of a solid six-piece group playing a program comprised mostly of originals, plus a pleasantly quirky trio version of Thelonious Monk’s  “Monk’s Dream.” There are several interesting moments throughout, especially on the Latin-meets-Middle Eastern groove of “Tirana” and the burning swing of “Contrary Opinions.” Tenor saxophonist Rick DiMuzio’s forceful and inspired playing is prominently featured, particularly on “Contrary Opinions,” while long-time Boston guitar guru Bruce Bartlett’s incisively atmospheric counter lines and thoughtful solos give the music a broad range of color. Not all of the tunes work well, such as the closing “Never Changes,” which has a retro ’80s fusion vibe that really doesn’t go anywhere. Still, this is a fine effort that’s worth checking out. Visit www.mypsace.com/stevelangone to check out samples of the music or to order a copy.

Some recent releases at the national level include “Blending Times” by saxophonist/composer Ravi Coltrane on the Savoy Jazz label. As the title indicates, this outing finds Coltrane and his regular quartet exploring various grooves via odd time signatures. This is becoming a common practice in the jazz world, especially with the younger generation. The difference here is that Coltrane and his associates—Luis Perdomo on piano, Drew Gress on bass and EJ Strickland on drums—make it sound relaxed and natural. Given their long association, these four musicians are so in sync that they anticipate each other’s ideas with uncanny ability and imaginative results. From the folk-like sound of Perdomo’s opening tune “Shine” to the free-wheeling collective improvisation tune “First Circuit” to the alternating time signature romp through Monk’s “Epistrophy” to the lovely closing number “For Turiya” (which is dedicated to Coltrane’s late mother Alice), Coltrane and his quartet continue to evolve into one of the more important groups in jazz today. For more information, visit www.ravicoltrane.com or www.savoyjazz.com.

Speaking of Perdomo, the Venezuelan-born pianist cuts loose in fine fashion on his latest release on the Criss Cross label, “Pathways.” Working in a trio format with bassist Hans Glawischnig and drummer Eric McPherson, Perdomo takes a more straight-ahead route than expected on this outing. And the results are spectacular.

Perdomo, who studied with the late Roland Hanna at Queens College in New York City, displays his melodic sensibilities throughout, notably on originals like “Slap,” “Unexpected” and the aforementioned “Shine.” He’s also well schooled in the standard songbook, with fresh takes on “Speak Low,” “Almost Like Being in Love” and Bud Powell’s “Oblivion,” which closes this superb session in fine style. Visit www.crisscrossjazz.com.

Saxophonist Joshua Redman’s latest for the Nonesuch label, “Compass,” further explores the saxophone-bass-drums format he utilized with success on his previous outing, “Way Back East.” This time, Redman doubles the other two chairs, creating a double trio, and uses this format in a variety of contexts from duo to trio to the full group. All of the music was spontaneously created in the studio, which adds an extra dimension that gets to the heart of what jazz is about—the spontaneity of the music. Bassists are Larry Grenadier and Reuben Rogers, and the drummers are Brian Blade and Gregory Hutchison. This is one that needs to be heard in order to fully appreciate its beauty. But if you’re not into collective improv, you may want to steer clear. For more info visit, www.nonesuch.com or www.joshuaredman.com.

Tom Harrell’s “Prana Dance” on the Highnote label finds the trumpeter/composer offering eight new tunes from his imaginative pen. Harrell’s music incorporates a variety of grooves, textures and meters, from the funky opener “Marching” to the straight-ahead burn of “Sequenza” to the lyrical ballad “The Sea Serpent.” Much like Ravi Coltrane’s quartet, Harrell’s group navigates the overall shifting moods of the music with grace and aplomb. There are several excellent moments from saxophonist Wayne Escoffrey, pianist Danny Grissett, bassist Ugonna Okegwo and, especially, drummer Jonathan Blake, whose propulsive drumming gives this fine CD a dynamic edge. Visit www.jazzdepot.com for more info.

Finally, from ECM Records come new recordings from two long-time label members. Italian trumpeter Enrico Rava fronts a fine quintet on “New York Days,” exploring music that is at times very open and spatial and at others more animated and propulsive. Rava is one of the finer exponents of the lyrical influence of Miles Davis, and it shows throughout this beautiful recording, though not in an overt, imitative way. Rava captures the spiritual essence of Davis and incorporates it into his approach to both his horn and the music. The great drummer Paul Motian adds his always inventive touch to the proceedings, as does saxophonist Mark Turner.

The other ECM release is the latest from the remarkable trio of pianist Keith Jarrett, titled “Yesterdays.” Once again, this outstanding group creatively weaves its way through nine standards including a superb take on Horace Silver’s “Strollin’.” We’ve heard this approach from this group for over 20 years now, but it never gets old due to the intuitive interaction these three musicians produce. For more info on both CDs, visit www.ecmrecords.com.