When I read some of the comments of this chat session, I decided to chime-in and provide some ground work for the Cat being discussed.
I have had the pleasure of knowing John since the early 90's when he was about 17 (at the time he had already worked with Joey DeFrancesco and Brandford Marsalis). Even at the age of 17 he we was being requested by many of the top artists in Philadelphia.
At the time John was the drummer for the Penn Gospel Choir, which consisted of some great musicians including Steven Ford, James Poyser and Eddie White. I had the opportunity to watch John do some things that, to this day, I still cannot believe. John then attended Berklee College of Music in Boston (Belive me, he knows about staying in the pocket) and has grown in a complete drummer.
John has worked with some of the top artists in the industry, including:
Richard Elliot, Marc Antoine, George Benson, Everette Harp, The Dramatics, Barry White, Bob Baldwin, Ramsey Lewis, Will Smith, George Duke, Janet Jackson, Musiq, Peter Lorber, Norman Brown, Rachelle Ferrell, Steven Ford and James Poyser.
John has also designed his own drum stick, The Lil' John Robert's Philly Style by Vater.
http://www.vater.com/newproducts/product.cfm?M=153Peace and Blessings