What he said... except -
Unless a piece has some very odd or difficult segments, I'd rather not listen to a recording of it. That's assuming it is something I haven't heard/played before; I kind of prefer to play it "by the book" as much as possible, at first, and see how it's going to come together with the orchestra. A better known piece obviously I'd like to hear as many interpretations as possible so as to be prepared for whatever bizarre mangling might be asked...
That said, what I
do like to do is get ahold of the complete score if I can and not only read it through several times ahead, but have it on the stand as well. That way I don't have to be wondering WTF is going on with other sections or rely on them to be getting things straight, at least as they may relate to me or the bass section as a whole.