RUSSIANS HOPE TO BECOME BACKSTREET BOYS OF BE-BOP

RUSSIANS HOPE TO BECOME BACKSTREET BOYS OF BE-BOP

SANTA BARBARA (Wireless Flash) -- A quintet of teenage Russian jazz musicians is hoping to become the "Backstreet Boys of Be- bop." The hunky boy group -- called the Moskats -- has just started recording its first album for international release. The boys range in age from 12 to 15, and were discovered at a Moscow jazz festival. Producer Peter Clark says he hopes to break the boy be-bop band into the American teeny-bopper audience with a few tunes that are more hip than the traditional jazz the boys are used to playing. One of the tunes is called "Flat-Foot Floogie," and is filled with all sorts of hipster slang lyrics. The Moskats reportedly have been making heartbeats go aflutter with teenage girls at a few high school performances, but Clark thinks the Russian boys belong on MTV. The Moskats next big gig will be at the Santa Barbara International Jazz Festival in September.