 He was a member of Charlie Johnson's Paradise Ten (1926–1931), then worked with bandleader Don Redman (1932–1936 and 1939), followed by jobs with Zutty Singleton (1939–1941), Benny Carter (1940–41), and Art Hodes (1941).De Paris recorded with Jelly Roll Morton (1939) and Sidney Bechet (1940) and was part of the Panassie sessions in 1938.In the 1950s, he performed with his brother, Wilbur.