A swinging tribute to Peggy Lee

Peggy Lee was a Midwest girl, straight out of Fargo, N.D., her sunny, blond persona and cool musical manner in distinct contrast to the hard-swinging, urban jazz sounds of the Swing Era.

Breaking through with the Benny Goodman band in the early ‘40s, she was one of the first of the band vocalists (along with Frank Sinatra, Dinah Shore and numerous others) to move on, dramatically expanding her career into solo recordings, motion pictures and television.

And into songwriting. “A Tribute to Miss Peggy Lee” at the Hollywood Bowl on Wednesday overflowed with musical goodies -- not surprising, given the stellar lineup of singers. Additionally, there was the fascinating opportunity to hear more than a dozen songs with lyrics and (in some cases) music by Lee. Decades before the genre was created, she was a true singer-songwriter, her catalog including such evergreens as “It’s a Good Day,” “I Don’t Know Enough About You,” “I’m Gonna Go Fishin’ ” and much, much more.

As richly diversified as her career became, however, it was always rooted in jazz. And the evening’s most engaging performances were produced by singers who, like Lee, enriched the entertaining aspects of their offerings with brisk, effortless jazz swing: Nnenna Freelon singing “I’m Gonna Go Fishin’,” Jane Monheit with “Lover,” Freddy Cole with “I Don’t Know Enough About You,” Lorraine Feather with “It’s a Good Day,” Maureen McGovern with “Come Back to Me.”

Other performers from other genres, lacking Lee’s subtle jazz articulation, sang instead with a sense of love and appreciation for her work: Rita Coolidge rendering two of the biggest hits, “Fever” and “Black Coffee,” Petula Clark with the rarely heard “Circle in the Sky,” Grady Tate and Jolie Jones pairing on the touching children’s song “Angels on Your Pillow,” Bea Arthur’s dramatic reading of “The Shining Sea” and Nancy Sinatra’s ebullient “Why Don’t You Do Right” (written by Joe McCoy).

Less appealingly, Jack Jones went too far over the top with “Well, Alright, Okay, You Win,” somewhat redeeming himself with “There’ll Be Another Spring.”

But Sheryl Lee Ralph, ever the diva, was the antithesis of Lee with in-your-face interpretations of “I’m a Woman” and “Hey, Big Spender.”

Ultimately, however, the program’s most scintillating moments traced to Lee herself, via big-screen projections of filmed moments from her career. Ranging from images of a sweet-faced young band canary to confident duos with Sinatra, Judy Garland and others, including a few regal passages from her later years, they provided a mesmerizing view of one of the 20th century’s most versatile musical artists.