Conrad began his career in Clark Terry‘s band in the early 1980’s and has been a featured member in the Joe Henderson Sextet, Tom Harrell‘s Septet and Big Band, and the Joe Lovano Nonet (featured as a soloist on Lovano’s 52nd Street Themes). He also performs and records with Eddie Palmieri‘s La Perfecta II and Afro-Caribbean Jazz Octet, Michel Camilo‘s 3+3, the Mingus Big Band (often serving as musical director, and was an arranger on the 2007 Grammy nominated Live at the Tokyo Blue Note), the Jon Faddis Jazz Orchestra, and Jeff “Tain” Watts Family Reunion Band, among many others.

A Voice Through the Door on Criss Cross Jazz and the Tip of the Sword on RadJazz Music featured Richie Beirach and Jack DeJohnette. He has recorded several highly acclaimed projects in the Afro-Caribbean jazz genre, including the Grammy nominated the Latin Side of Joe Henderson featuring Joe Lovano for Half Note label. This is the follow-up project to the Latin Side of Wayne Shorter, Another Kind of Blue: The Latin Side of Miles Davis, and, the Latin Side of John Coltrane. All three were nominated for Grammy Awards (in 2009, 2005, and 1998 respectively) and recorded live at the Blue Note Jazz Club in New York City. Featured musicians included Paquito D’Rivera, Dave Valentin, Eddie Palmieri, and Randy Brecker. Herwig’s other solo recordings on Criss Cross are A Jones for Bones Tones, Obligation, Land of Shadow, Hieroglyphica, Unseen Universe, Osteology, and Heart of Darkness, which received 4 and 1/2 stars in Down Beat. He has been voted No. 1 Jazz Trombonist in the 1998, 1999, and 2002 Downbeat Jazz Critics’ Poll and ranked highly on several occasions in the past decade. Herwig has been nominated for Trombonist of the Year by the Jazz Journalists Association on multiple occasions, including in 2015.

Conrad has conducted master classes, seminars and workshops at hundreds of universities and conservatories around the world including the Sibelius Academy, Finland; the Royal Irish Academy, Dublin; the University of Cologne, Germany; Eastman School of Music, Rochester, New York; and the University of Southern California.

The recipient of performance and teaching grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, Conrad is a professor of jazz trombone, jazz improvisation, and jazz composition and arrangement at Rutgers University. He was elected to the board of directors of the International Trombone Association. 

Conrad is an alumnus of North Texas State University in Denton, Texas, where he performed in the One O’Clock Lab Band. He attended Goddard College in Plainfield, Vermont, and Queens College, CUNY.