Voices of independence

California bluegrass performer Laurie Lewis and jazzy singer-songwriter Lisa McCormick, from Vermont, have a lot in common. They’re both independent-minded women who write clear, honest, intelligent songs and possess special voices that are both strong and expressive. This week, each is playing a small, intimate venue in the Washington area. Both shows are worth a look.

Laurie Lewis’ visit to Jammin’ Java in Vienna Monday finds her paired with her longtime singing partner, Tom Rozum. They have just released a terrific album, “Guest House.”

“We love duet singing,” Miss Lewis says. “We’ve been singing together closer to twenty years than fifteen. It’s a thrill to find somebody you work so well together with. And the vocal blend, I think, is really wonderful.”

The CD’s songs give reverential nods to such legendary singers and songwriters as the Louvin Brothers, Bill Monroe, Hazel Dickens and Woody Guthrie. “They all have a rural roots-music flavor to them,” Miss Lewis says, “whether it’s bluegrass or old-time or sort of older country, sort of Louvins. And that’s the music that we really love.”

This is not to say the music is old and dusty. The style is classic, but each song is infused with energy and emotion. Many of the songs are brand new, including three by Miss Lewis.

The first song on the album, “Willie Poor Boy,” is based on a true story about a man who started to carry a gun after being robbed, then let his temper get the better of him. A cautionary tale with a Woody Guthrie feel, it has a timeless message with a very contemporary setting.

“I don’t like to be preached at, and I don’t want to preach at people, but if there is something I can say in a way that just tells a story, I’ll go for it,” Miss Lewis says. “Like ’Willie Poor Boy’ — it just tells a story and reaches a conclusion without ramming it down your throat.”

Miss Lewis has been a leader on the California bluegrass scene since the 1970s, when she co-founded the all-woman bluegrass group Good Ole Persons. She won two awards as best female vocalist from the International Bluegrass Music Association and is a trophy-winning fiddle player. She and Mr. Rozum (who plays mandolin, fiddle and guitar) were nominated for a Grammy for their 1995 album “The Oak and the Laurel.” In Vienna, they will be joined by multi-instrumentalist Tom Sauber.

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Sunday brings Lisa McCormick to a most unusual venue, a house concert in Columbia, Md. Once a month for the past eight years, Sherry and Steve Panzer have opened their home for performances from some of the finest singer-songwriters around, including Ellis Paul, Cliff Eberhardt, and Vance Gilbert.

This week, the focus is on Miss McCormick, and when she wraps her lush, smoky voice around some of the new songs from her latest CD, “Mystery Girl,” some of her Washington fans may be quite surprised. After stepping back from the 150 dates a year of her critically acclaimed contemporary folk singer-songwriter lifestyle a few years ago, she made a low-key return last year with a new and different style: sultry jazz and sexy Latin rhythms.

“I just found myself being drawn in that direction. I love those sounds,” Miss McCormick says. “I love that sort of lounge-singer feel, the kind of jazz-standards feel and the sensuality of the Spanish music and chord progressions and stuff.”

“Mystery Girl” is filled with songs of passion and romance. They ripple and undulate, and the lyrics are suggestive, thought-provoking and erotic. They look at love and emotions and leave you feeling good about all of it. This album deserves a place next to Barry White and Antonio Carlos Jobim in the rack marked “perfect romantic mood music.”

Miss McCormick has become something of an expert on romance. For the past several years, she has been getting paid to write essays and romance how-to articles for the Dating & Personals section of MSN’s Web site. She has brought her thoughts into the romantic messages of songs such as “All in Good Time,” while “98.6 X 2” takes a wonderfully sensual jab at the scientific, clinical approach to sexuality.

Although the focus of Miss McCormick’s concert this weekend is her new music, fans can count on samplings from her earlier albums, “Right Now,” produced by Jonathan Edwards, and the critically acclaimed “Sacred,” which contemporary-folk diva Christine Lavin said is “not to be missed by anyone who loves brilliant songwriting and singing.”

Also at the Panzer home Sunday will be “neo-impressionist” folk musicians Paul Kamm and Eleanore MacDonald. The Panzer House Concert Series, sponsored by the Columbia Ski Club, is an intimate setting for maybe 75 people, and a $12 donation is suggested. For more information, see www.columbiaskiclub.org/phc or call 410/351-9233 for reservations.