Lee Conrad Herwig III (born 1959) is an American
jazz trombonist from New York City.[1][2][3]
Biography
Herwig began his career in
Clark Terry's band in the early 1980s[4] 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.
Herwig 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.
^Biography Index, A Cumulative Index to Biographical Material in Books and Magazines; Volume 22: September 1996 — August 1997,H.W. Wilson Company, New York (1997)