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The Kesser Shem Tov 2:pg.536 writes that the minhag of London and Amsterdam is to read the Megillah without the taamim (cantillation). This minhag is also found in Alger and Ashkanaz. The reason that is given is that the megillah is called a letter (not sure how that explains this). The Rivevos Ephraim 4:173:44 thinks this is a chiddush.
Do any communities or shuls read the megillah without the cantillation nowadays (I have never seen or heard this before)?
Yes. The Esther chant of the Spanish-Portuguese community, for instance, is not reflective of the cantillation. If you want to hear recordings of the Amsterdam and London communities reciting it per their traditional nusaḥ, you can find them here.
