I'm not sure how our collective mindset failed us. During the first rehearsal of a piece, the bassists and I came roaring in confidently after several bars of rests--only to realize that we were all playing twice as fast as we should have.
After bringing the piece to a halt, the conductor asked us to start again.
"Nice jazz," he remarked to the bassists.
It was nice jazz, actually. Our speedy entrance would have served certain Duke Ellington numbers, especially "C Jam Blues," well. Alas, we were playing Beethoven at the time.
