Lady Gaga may have gotten the world's attention tonight when she danced out of an egg at the 2011 Grammy Awards, but earlier in the evening, one of Oakland's own received one of the coveted awards.

Oakland's Leslie Ann Jones - a Skywalker Sound recording engineer who lives in Oakland's Dimond District - won a Grammy Sunday night for her work on "Quincy Porter: The Complete Viola Works," by Eliesha Nelson, a young African-American violinist from Alaska and the Northwest Sinfonia, and conducted by John McLaughlin Williams. This recording tied for Best Classical Contemporary Composition with Michael Daugherty's composition, "Deus ex Machina," engineered by Mark Donahue, John Hill and Dirk Sobotka.

Jones, who is the daughter of singer Helen Grayco and drummer/bandleader Spike Jones, is a long-time Oakland resident who has worked tirelessly to support women in audio and tech. A Recording Arts Advisory Board member for Expression College of Digital Arts, Jones has produced a number of recordings that feature women musicians, including albums by Holly Near, Cris Williamson, Margie Adam and Ronnie Gilbert.

Way to go, Leslie!

About Susan Mernit

Susan Mernit is the founder of Oakland Local. She is also a circuit rider for The Community Information Challenge, a program of The John S and James L Knight Foundation, and a consultant to non-profit and community organizations. Susan lives in North Oakland, near the Santa Fe school, with her partner Andy, her housemate, a big old dog named Winston, and a yard full of ants. She is an aspiring gardener, a long-time blogger & entrepreneur, and a recovering journalist.