Paris was a popular child entertainer in vaudeville who shared the stage with Bill "Bojangles" Robinson and the Mills Brothers.
After serving in the army during World War II, he was inspired by his friend Nat King Cole to assemble a trio featuring himself on guitar and vocals.
He recorded Thelonious Monk's "Round Midnight", which was produced by the critic Leonard Feather and featured a young Dick Hyman on piano.
Paris was part of the Lionel Hampton Orchestra that played at the famed Cavalcade of Jazz in Los Angeles at Wrigley Field which was produced by Leon Hefflin Sr. on July 10, 1949.
[1] Paris performed or recorded with Bobby Scott, Charlie Shavers, Coleman Hawkins, Dizzy Gillespie, Donald Byrd, Eddie Costa, Gigi Gryce, Hank Jones, Joe Wilder, Johnny Mandel, Lee Konitz, Max Roach, Neal Hefti, Oscar Pettiford, Ralph Burns, Terry Gibbs, Tony Scott, and Wynton Kelly.
He was virtually the only performer to have appeared at every incarnation of the famed night spot, from the legendary Birdland of the 1950s to the present.