Joe Pass, a jazz guitarist whose musical associations ranged from Ella Fitzgerald and Duke Ellington to Herb Ellis and Oscar Peterson, died today at the University of Southern California-Norris Cancer Center. He was 65.

The cause was liver cancer, said his daughter, Nina.

Mr. Pass made many recordings, including "Virtuoso: Joe Pass at the Montreux Jazz Festival 1975," "Peterson and Pass a Salle Pleyel," "Peterson Big Six at Montreux," "Portrait of Duke Ellington," "Ella in London," "Seven Come Eleven" and "Great American Song Book." In 1975 he shared a Grammy Award for best group jazz performance with Oscar Peterson and Niels Pedersen for their album "The Trio." He also recorded with Frank Sinatra, Sarah Vaughan, Joe Williams, Carmen McRae and George Shearing. Struggle and Recovery

Mr. Pass was born in New Brunswick, N.J. He began playing professionally while still a youth, sitting in with bands on Long Island and in Brooklyn.

In "The Encyclopedia of Jazz in the 60's," by Leonard Feather, Mr. Pass recounted an early descent into drug abuse, a long struggle and finally recovery at the Synanon Foundation in Santa Monica, Calif.:

"I left school and got a card,' he said, referring to a musicians' union card, "gigged around and started goofing -- pot, pills, junk." He traveled around the country with different tours and spent a year in the Marine Corps. Eventually he moved to Las Vegas, Nev., where he played in hotel bands. He was arrested several times on drug charges and at one point spent three and a half years at the United States Public Health Service Hospital in Fort Worth.

"Back in Vegas, I did commercial work," he told Mr. Feather. "Still in and out of jails for narcotics violations. Then I came to Synanon." In 1962, the year after he entered the clinic, he made an album called "Sounds of Synanon."

In addition to his daughter, Mr., Pass is survived by his wife, Ellen Luders Pass, and a son, Joe.