As a student at senior high school in Sonneberg between 1957 and 1961, he was enthusiastic about modern music and dance genres such as swing, boogie-woogie, blues and rock 'n' roll, and taught himself to play guitar and piano.

Because too many students wanted to study guitar, he entered the trombone class, having had some experience of playing the instrument.

Since 1983 he has worked with artists such as Tadashi Endo, Sheryl Banks, Tony Oxley, Derek Bailey, Maggie Nicols, Theo Jörgensmann, Peter Brötzmann, Barre Phillips, Peter Kowald, Han Bennink, Barry Altschul, Jay Oliver, Louis Moholo, Gerry Hemingway, and George E. Lewis.

As unaccompanied soloist Bauer uses multiphonics, with matchless "circular breathing techniques" he conjures his own loops.

With Graham Collier With Barry Guy and the London Jazz Composers' Orchestra with Irène Schweizer