By Gianni Criveller
In memory of Ugo Conta, jazz musician, restaurateur and, for almost 60 years, a column of the Italian community of Hong Kong. The sad news of his death was reported by Italian newspapers on 1 April 2020. His life was full of achievements, which he himself recounted in the book, 500 years of Italians in Hong Kong and Macau, published in 2013. Pages worth reading.
It was nice to hear Ugo’s stories. I kept asking him about his debuts in Milan with Adriano Celentano, Enzo Jannacci, Sergio Endrigo and many other young musicians who would later make the history of Italian music.
And then his there was his adventure in Hong Kong which began, unplanned, in 1963. He started playing at the Den, at the old Hilton Hotel in Central. He then opened prestigious Italian restaurants, including the very famous Rigoletto’s, visited by world luminaries. Passionate about judo, he founded a school that has trained thousands of pupils, some of whom became champions. He founded music and singing schools, including, in 1994, the May Chau Academy with his wife, the talented artist May Chau, to whom my condolences go.
Among the memories that now come to my mind, I would like to mention a memorable jazz concert in Hong Kong in May 2014, with the Ugo Conta Jazz Quartet, dedicated to the Italian consul general in Hong Kong, Alessandra Schiavo.
Ugo had returned to his beloved Mantua and became a victim of the Covid-19 coronavirus, which is saddening these days.
Goodbye, dear Ugo.
