JAZZ : NEW RELEASES : Free-Form Sax From Branford Marsalis : ** BRANFORD MARSALIS “The Beautyful Ones Are Not Yet Born” <i> Columbia</i>

Saxophonist Marsalis--fronting a piano-less trio featuring bassist Bob Hurst and drummer Jeff Watts--fully embraces the loosely structured, highly spontaneous music made popular by Ornette Coleman in the late ‘50s and early ‘60s. Even the melodies of the tunes, such as the pretty title track and “Dewey Baby,” which spotlights an aggressive cameo by fellow tenorist Courtney Pine, sound as though they might have been written by Coleman.

The leader has long favored this type of unfettered approach--along with Coleman, Wayne Shorter is also a major influence--but he has never expressed it so clearly as on this release, his seventh for Columbia. Here, all the tunes save one sport nebulous harmonic centers and bubbling rhythmic currents.

Marsalis improvises at length, exhibiting a rich tone on both soprano and tenor, but his imagination seems to be on hold and ultimately much of the music ends up sounding repetitive and aimless.

The exception is “Cain and Abel,” wherein the leader’s brother, trumpeter Wynton Marsalis, appears on a blues and adds some needed earthiness to an otherwise basically free-form session.

New albums are rated on a scale of one star (poor) to four (excellent). A rating of five stars is reserved for classic reissues or retrospectives.