[4] Joe Albany was an accomplished jazz pianist during the 1960s through the 1980s, performing with the likes of Charlie Parker, Miles Davis, and Charles Mingus before his descent into heroin addiction.

[5] Actor Mark Ruffalo was originally cast as Joe Albany in 2011 but was forced to back out due to scheduling issues and production being delayed.

The film's consensus reads: "Rich in mood and on-screen talent but lacking in narrative depth, Low Down tells an oft-told tale with a troubling dearth of imagination.

[14] George Varga of the San Diego Union-Tribune deemed Low Down "a grimly gripping movie"[15] but was less effusive than Seitz, giving it two-and-a-half stars.

David Edelstein, in Vulture, praised the performances by Hawkes, Fanning, and much of the supporting cast, but felt that the film was "not as entertaining as" the book on which it was based: "The weakness of Low Down is that it misses the wry tone and scruffy, eccentrically funny parts of [Amy-Jo] Albany’s memoir.