His work in the 1920s and 1930s included sessions with The Boswell Sisters, The Dorsey Brothers, Bix Beiderbecke, Hoagy Carmichael, Miff Mole, Red Nichols, Adrian Rollini, and Frankie Trumbauer.

[2] Outside of orchestras, Kress played in several guitar duets with Eddie Lang (1932), Dick McDonough (1934, 1937), Tony Mottola (1941), and George Barnes (1961–1965).

During the 1940s, he played Dixieland jazz with Bobby Hackett, Pee Wee Russell, and Muggsy Spanier.

[2] Kress was married to Helen Carroll, a native of Bloomington, Indiana, who moved to New York City to become a singer.

[3] Carl Kress died of a heart attack in 1965 while he was on tour with George Barnes (musician) in Reno, Nevada.