NEW RELEASES : In Brief : <i> Albums are rated on a scale of one star (poor) to five (a classic). : </i>

*** 1/2 Steve Coleman and Five Elements, “Black Science,” Novus/RCA. This is Coleman’s most fully realized recording to date. Here the M-Base saxophonist boils his electric, eclectic sound down to its essence. His quintet plays less, which means more room for Coleman’s slippery alto to dart and glide through the arrangements. The lack of clear-cut structure--and replacement of jazz’s usual fluid swing by the herky-jerky thrust of Marvin (Smitty) Smith’s polyrhythmic drum chops--will put off some listeners.