At the back of the room, an upright piano stood against a velvet curtain. The crowd was a blur of sharp suits and tired eyes, but when the first notes of Nino Rota’s "Love Theme from La Strada" drifted through the room, the clinking of glasses softened.

In the corner, an elderly woman stopped mid-sip. The music pulled her back to a summer in 1954, to a dusty road and a simple tune played on a trumpet. But Earl Grant’s influence made it feel modern, sophisticated, and deeply personal. It was a bridge between the lonely road of the film and the neon heartbeat of the night.

When the final chord vibrated into silence, Elias didn't look up for applause. He simply let the "Love Theme" linger in the air like a secret shared between friends.

Elias closed his eyes, hearing the ghostly echo of Earl Grant’s Hammond organ. He added a slight, rhythmic bounce to the melancholy theme, a rhythmic "strut" that suggested hope was just around the corner, even if it was currently out of sight.