A powerful, lustful style endures

Etta James, who capped an L.A.-centric blues bill at the Hollywood Bowl on Wednesday, gets a lot of well-deserved respect. But genteel audiences and official bios tend to gloss over the sex, drugs and rock ‘n’ roll travails that have shaped her artistry as much as the formidable natural instrument she’s honed to perfection.

The elegantly black-clad James, 65, quickly reminded Bowl listeners that the blues is even more about libido than suffering through, or celebrating, life. Performing with her spry, nine-piece Roots Band, she sprawled suggestively in her chair to illustrate what the growling “Come to Mama” meant. Later she offered a more yearning take on amour with the stripped-down “A Lover Is Forever.”

James sat during most of the hourlong set, yet she delivered all the frank vitality of such stellar recent releases as “Let’s Roll.” Commanding the amphitheater with her regal presence, casual banter and sexy rumble of a voice, she grabbed you in the, er, gut during Otis Redding’s “Hard to Handle,” then nearly cracked with the force of heartbreak on the accusatory “Damn Your Eyes.”

The well-balanced program also featured jazz-blues singer Ernie Andrews, whose Bowl debut mostly addressed the travails of romance with a smooth selection of classics, including one by the late Teddy Edwards, his friend of 50-plus years, to whom Andrews offered a heartfelt, moving tribute.

Compton-bred singer-songwriter Keb’ Mo’ followed with material that took on the austerity of dusty ol’ folk-blues. Yet while he touched on such classic themes as love and unity, he dealt artfully with modern concerns. When he lamented the push-button, automated world in “Keep It Simple,” he got enthusiastic cheers from a crowd that could, like, totally relate.