Never one to do things by halves, Hugh Masekela is at the start of a set of 70th birthday celebrations that involve dinners and lunches with hundreds of friends and extended family members, a headline slot at the Cape Town International Jazz Festival (CTIJF) tonight (Sat 4 April), a stint at the celebrity opening of Sol Kerzner's new One And Only luxury hotel and a world tour that takes in the United States and Britain.

"My friends and family are exploiting it!" jokes Masekela, taking time out from his media schedule and rehearsals to fetch his wife, Elinam Cofie (listen to "Ghana", of his new album, "Phola" for a tale of how they met). "Most of my wife's family is here from Ghana; we have friends from Nigeria; some of the children have come from the United States and other parts of Africa. We had a big lunch at my place with 300 people in a few marquees and now they're here for the festival with dinners and a big lunch on Sunday..."

The trumpet and flugelhorn legend, and musical activist, says that his birthday set at the CTIJF "Kippes" stage will feature material from "Phola" as well as the old favourites "that I can't get out of there without doing". While his latest album features sterling horn work, it has been hailed as showcasing a new side to the frontman's singing, courtesy gentle prodding from producer and arranger Erik Paliani (Lee Ritenour, Zamajobe, Mavo Solomon), who also contributes guitar, keyboards and bass to the record.

"Well, I don't know," says Masekela, "All of my albums have a lot of singing. I was forced to sing in 1964 - Miriam Makeba (then his partner, and later his first wife) told me that the musicians needed to understand what I wanted, and that if i didn't sing, then she would not talk to me anymore. People seemed to like it and I have been doing it ever since. My producer just told me to sing without the usual screaming and pushing it, so maybe that makes the voice and the songs more transparent? I am definitely a trumpet player, but to use the voice in a song is the only way to explain the messages of what I call 'songs of concern'."

2009 also marks another milestone for Masekela - it is ten years since he founded the Musicians and Artists Programme of South Africa (MAAPSA), aimed at raising funds and supporting artists to overcome drug and alcohol addiction, and aid in their recovery. This after the jazzman's own victory over substance abuse.

"After seeing what we have done, the Gauteng Department of Social Development has asked to partner with us, and we are taking the culture to the communities. We're getting away from sending people to treatment centres for recovery. In a nation as addictive as ours - we are one of the top ten addictive societies in the world - every home needs a counsellor, so to speak. Let the people learn and get a sense of feeling and belonging. Then, when we have proved that the pilot project can work, we can package it and say to other communities, 'Do you want this in your area?'"

While Masekela is excited about his birthday tours, a project closer to home is demanding as much of his attention. "I'm taking a show about 100 years of migration music to the State Theatre. It has ten singers and my small band and looks at music from 1890 to 1990 that we can call migration music. Since most people in South Africa started coming to the industrial centres at the end of the 19th century, most of the popular songs are migration songs; songs longing for home. 'Sarie Marais' would be an example," he smiles. "We are doing a cross-section of such songs, which I started rehearsing about two months ago with the singers - it's an exciting project and is one of the things that, as artists, we have to create to do for ourselves."

Masekela's seventieth birthday international tour sees him playing with a pared down version of the Chisa All Stars that toured the US last year, featuring singer extraordinaire  Sibongile Khumalo and her violinist son Tshepo Mngoma, and saxophone stalwart Khaya Mahlangu. "I prefer to play with musicians from home," he explains. "They understand the texture of the songs; you don't have to write anything down; they can sing with you - and I happen to be playing with four really great young players."

Do the youngsters keep the elder statesmen on his toes? "No, I work them to death, and because they are so good, they make me look good, " he laughs, then adds, more seriously, "I really don't think about age. Not until I look in the mirror. Then I see my dad. You forget, and then you look in the mirror and there he is! 'Jirre,' you say, 'Dad, what are you doing there - back off a little bit; get out of town',"

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Hugh Masekela plays the Cape Town International Jazz Festival tonight (Sat 4 April) at the Cape Town International Convention Centre. Also on tonight's bill are Maceo Parker, Mos Def, Dianne Reeves, Dave Liebman, Kyle Eastwood, Abigail Kubeka, McCoy Mrubata, 340ml, Rus Nerwich and more (single day pass R330; R25/show extra ticket for Rosies stage). Details CapeTownJazzFest.com.

The additional CTIJF "People’s Concert Against Abuse" features Mos Def, The Stylistics, Shakatak, Gang of Instrumentals, Sylvia Mdunyelwa and Claire Phillips (Sunday, Swartklip Sports Ground, Tafelsig, 10am (gates 8am).

Hugh Masekela's migration song concerts run at Pretoria's State Theatre from 24 August to 20 September.

This column originally appeared in the Cape Argus 'Tonight; section on 4 April 2009. Find out more on Tonight.co.za.