After studying clarinet at the conservatoire in Versailles, he turned to jazz, making appearances with Steve Lacy, François Cotinaud and Alan Silva.
He was in charge of the IACP (Institute for Artistic and Cultural Perception) from 1979 to 1982 and taught jazz at the Montreuil sous bois conservatoire.
In 1991, he formed a trio with Didier Petit (cello) and Pablo Cueco (zarb) to explore world music and free jazz.
The trio expanded in 1995, adding Bruno Girard or Régis Huby (violin) and Camel Zekri (guitar) to form the group Les Arpenteurs.
In 2000, Denis Colin was commissioned by Radio France to create "Dans les cordes", a piece for ten musicians.